Persistence powers alumni’s global engineering startup

During Kushal Doshi’s first weeks in Pittsburgh, he set his sights on a research position in Kenji Shimada’s CERLab. A mix-up with the bus schedule caused him to miss his first interview and his chance to work in the lab… at least at first.

“I was determined to find a spot in the lab, so a month or two later, when another role opened up, I connected with Professor Shimada again,” Doshi said. “That little bit of perseverance helped me get into the lab, and what came from working there is one of the best experiences of my life.”

At CERLab, Doshi worked on a welding robot designed for use inside ship hulls, where human welders face hazardous fumes in confined conditions. His role focused on the mechanical systems, including a mobile platform that transported a welding torch between locations. The work required deep mechanical understanding and constant iteration. “Moving from a cardboard prototype to real hardware teaches you very quickly how important balancing theory and practice is,” he said.

For the next year and a half, including a summer internship in Japan, Doshi worked for Tsueinshi Shipbuilding Co., designing the robot. While overseas, he was in awe of Japanese culture and credits the experience with giving him an open mind and influencing some of his company’s current practices.

“Global exposure is great for any company,” said Doshi. “I’ve adopted inemuri, so my employees are welcome to take a nap after lunch to refresh.”

Before graduating, Doshi secured a job working on the complex mechanical systems critical to semiconductor manufacturing at ASML. Over four years, he grew rapidly alongside ASML, moving from a Mechanical Designer role toward Project Leadership, but he realized that he would be happier, and tap his full potential, with the freedom to think across disciplines and systems. He wanted to lead technical direction from concept through execution. But before leaving ASML, Doshi secured them as his first client.

In 2022, Doshi founded K Gyan Design Lab, which specializes in supporting high-precision, cutting-edge projects where internal teams lack specialized skills, bandwidth, or short-term capacity. Rather than working on isolated outsourced tasks, K Gyan Design Lab functions as an extension of its clients’ engineering teams collaborating and co-developing projects hand-in-hand with them. 

“Our clients collaborate with us either on new product development or optimization of existing products,” Doshi explained. “They need people who can come in, understand complex systems quickly, connect problem statements with requirements & design intent, and deliver high-quality designs without a long ramp-up period.”

Headquartered in India, K Gyan Design Lab has been impacted by shifting market conditions that have slowed U.S. client work. Rather than downsize, Doshi has redirected his focus toward Europe and is building relationships and securing clients in Germany and the Netherlands, two countries poised to play a leading role in semiconductor manufacturing.

Doshi has come a long way from missing that first CERLab interview, but believes that what he learned at CMU, including how to navigate challenges, build robotic systems, and work internationally, continues to guide how he leads as an entrepreneur.